January 26, 2012

Recipe: Paleo Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:
- 1 6oz can tomato paste
- 1 to 1.5 cups of beef stock
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- .5 of an onion or 2/3 cup frozen diced onion
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons honey (optional- only add if you want a sweeter sauce)

Method:
Combine all ingredients in slow cooker or saucepan (I recommend a small slow cooker or THIS so it can simmer a while away from the stovetop). Simmer on low setting for a couple of hours (or at least 30 minutes if you are in a hurry). Enjoy!

I usually make triple batches of this and freeze some. I especially like this sauce for BBQ Pork in the Crockpot.

This recipe is based in part or in whole on this fantastic recipe .

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Tags: gluten free barbecue, HFCS free BBQ sauce, paleo barbecue, paleo BBQ, primal barbecue, Primal BBQ

January 24, 2012

Recipe: Primal Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon cold water
2 tablespoons boiling water
1/4 cup grade b maple syrup
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
Sprinkle gelatin over cold water and mix with fork. Let stand a couple of minutes to soften. Add boiling water and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved and mixture is clear. Allow to gelatin to cool while stirring together maple syrup and cocoa; add whipping cream and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer until mixture is stiff. Pour in gelatin mixture and beat until well blended. Refrigerate in large bowl or spoon into serving dishes, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving. I can never wait more than 15, and it’s still mousse-like! Enjoy!

This recipe is based in part or in whole on this recipe by Hershey’s.

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Tags: granulated sugar free chocolate mousse, Granulated sugar free dessert, primal chocolate mousse, primal dessert

January 18, 2012

Recipe: Paleo Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry

Ingredients:
1 pound meatballs or ground beef, browned
1 can pineapple chunks, juice reserved
1/2 bag frozen onion and bell pepper blend (or roughly 1/2 fresh onion diced and one bell pepper diced)

Sauce:
1/3 C cider vinegar or coconut vinegar
1/4 C Honey, Grade B Maple Syrup or Palm Sugar
2 Tablespoons Gluten-Free Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoons Gelatin (optional, but will make the sauce thicker. I don’t mind the sauce thin though!)

Method:
Brown meatballs or ground beef. Remove meat from pan. Sauté onion and pepper. Add pineapple and sauce ingredients. Heat to boiling then reduce heat to thicken. Add meat back to skillet for 5-10 minutes to let flavors blend. Serve over Super Simple Cauliflower Rice. Enjoy!

Posted in Food | 2 Comments »

Tags: Paleo Chinese Food Recipe, Paleo Sweet and Sour

January 18, 2012

A Menu for Non-Paleo Houseguests

Last week my in-laws came in town for a couple of days. Any time we have company, I struggle over what to feed them. I always want to make people feel comfortable and welcome in our home, which means I tend to ask beforehand what they like to eat for breakfast, if there is anything special they want, etc. Unfortunately, most of our guests say bagels and fake fat-free non-dairy coffee creamer. Talk about internal struggle! I used to buy the bagels and whatever people wanted, but it really felt like feeing them something I know to be destructive was wrong on a lot of different levels. This time I didn’t buy the bagels and junk food (I did buy the coffee creamer, but baby steps, right?)!

I tried to select paleo(ish) meals that would go over well with my junk-food addicted father-in-law (who has terminal cancer, by the way, and it kills me watching him feed himself so poorly. He says it’s a quality of life thing for him and he just enjoys the junk too much to stop…ugh. But I digress). Anyway, he seemed to enjoy the meals below. Either that or he was too polite to tell me he didn’t like it. This didn’t prevent him from going to buy donuts one day and bringing soda to drink while he was awake watching movies until 2-3am, but at least I did my part!

What to Feed a Non-Paleo House Guest:

•Sweet and Sour Stir-Fry with Super Simple Cauliflower Rice
•BBQ Pork Roast with Side Salad
•Gluten-Free, Grain-Free Banana Bread
•Primal Chocolate Mousse

What do you feed your sugar and grain addicted guests? Any tips on preventing things from getting awkward when you ask family and friends to stop bringing your kids candy and junk as “love treats?”

Posted in Mommying, paleo | 2 Comments »

Tags: Feeding non-paleo family, what to feed house guests when you're on a diet

January 13, 2012

Paleo Family on a Budget: One Month Down

Last month was our first official month trying to stick to a $600 food budget. As it turns out, it wasn’t the best month to start with! We ended up traveling (kind of last minute) 3 straight weekends, which meant more eating on the run and/or buying different food that works better for road trips. So, the good news is: We came in under budget for grocery shopping! The bad news is that we spent more money on dining out than we had budgeted (we budget less than $40/month for dining out- no joke). Did we break even on our dining out and grocery budgets? Not really . As it turns out, we ended up spending an extra $100 on food in the month of December due to travel.

That said, when I did buy groceries, I was able to stick to my rules no problem. This is an evolving budget, and there are a few things I am thinking about as we go that could change some numbers for us. For example, my husband and I strongly prefer grassfed beef to poultry. I have some great chicken nugget recipes for my kids, which is nice since they don’t like red meat very much yet.

I can always get a good deal on chicken or pork, for $1.99 a pound or less, but grassfed beef is at least three times that price. I plan to do the math on the difference between buying cheaper conventional cuts of poultry or pork and then having to add in healthy fat by way of coconut oil or grassfed butter, but I haven’t yet. I guess I haven’t because there is a huge element that I’m not sure how to quantify: I’m calling it the feel-good element! See, grassfed beef isn’t just delicious. It feels good buying grassfed beef because I know it is better for the environment and my body. I hate to admit this, but there have been nights we have considered going out to dinner instead of eating it at home simply because (although I’ve done the best I can dressing it up for deliciousness) chicken just isn’t as tasty as grassfed beef, IMHO. And, going out to dinner, my friends, doesn’t do anything good for our budget!

Anyway, that is my struggle at the moment…I will keep doing the math and considering changes. For anyone who is curious, we are right on track for January, and have spent just shy of $300 so far!

Are you eating real food on a budget? Paleo? Primal? Gluten-Free? If you have any tips, please share!

Posted in Minimalism, Mommying, paleo | 4 Comments »

Tags: budget paleo, Grocery Budget, paleo family budget, Reduce Grocery Bill

January 12, 2012

One Small Victory: Conquering Vegan to Paleo Texture Issues

I’ve written several posts about my children having texture issues after being raised primarily vegan. Before we switched to a Paleo/Primal diet last year, we ate tons of whole grain pasta and breads and of course some “schmeat” – our word for the fake soy based meat. Carl has been the easiest to transition, I’m sure based more on his age than anything else. Jude is at a really rough age (almost three) and is extremely strong willed; he would rather not eat than try something new half the time. So, I have been working pretty hard on getting my kids to be able to tolerate (and enjoy) the texture of real meat. Red meat is still a struggle for the kids, although Carl devours Everyday Paleo Meatloaf with my Meatloaf Topping! We are starting slowly with chicken, and have progressed through a variety of different ways to prepare it.

I have shared two different chicken nugget recipes (here and here), one using cooked, shredded chicken to form patties, and one using ground chicken. About a month ago (in preparation for one of our many road trips), I cubed some chicken breast into teeny pieces (think Chick-Fil-A sized nuggets) and started to experiment. The result is my best chicken nugget recipe yet!

So, in the past thirty days, Jude has taken a liking to super simple cauliflower rice, chicken breast nuggets, and even pineapple! Of course, there are a lot of days where he won’t touch any of the above. Even with all of the travel we have been doing and the unfortunate availability of awful food choices, once we are back on home turf, my kids get back on track with food fairly well. They may ask for the same junk food they saw at our relatives houses, but we don’t have it and no one else is eating it, so they stop asking pretty quickly. Thank goodness! I had to try really hard to follow my own advice and keep my stress level low while on vacation last month. I can actually see my kids behavior start to spiral downhill after a day or two of eating SAD. So, yeah, lets just say I’m actually looking forward to the inclement New York winter weather so we can stay close to home for a while!

Posted in Mommying, paleo | 1 Comment »

Tags: how to start eating meat after being vegan, how to start eating meat after being vegetarian, paleo kids, small victory, vegan to paleo transition

January 12, 2012

Recipe: The Best Paleo Chicken Nugget Recipe!

Ingredients

4 Chicken Breasts, cubed into small pieces

Dash or two of Garlic Powder and Onion Powder

3-4 Tablespoons coconut flour

1/4 cup coconut oil (for cooking)

Method:

Put coconut oil in skillet at high heat. Place chicken breast cubes into container with lid or Ziploc bag. Sprinkle seasonings and coconut flour over chicken and shake (yes, shake-n-bake style). Add chicken to hot skillet and cook until nicely brown. Results in crispy, delicious, gluten-free, picky-eater approved chicken nugget!

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Tags: chick-fil-a chicken nuggets, chicken breast nugget, gluten free chicken nugget, gluten-free chick-fil-a chick-fil-a copycat, gluten-free chicken nuggets, Paleo chicken nugget, primal chicken nuggets

January 12, 2012

Recipe: Super Simple Paleo Cauliflower Rice

If you are the type to gag at the thought of using frozen vegetables, or think it’s a terrible alternative to fresh vegetables, or whatever this probably isn’t a recipe for you (this blog might not be either? lol), If, however, you are the type that appreciates the finer points of frozen veggies, read on!)